Latest news with #Catarina
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Why doesn't the South Atlantic get many tropical storms?
If you look at a map showing the tracks of every tropical depression, subtropical storm, tropical storm and hurricane (called typhoons in the Western Pacific basin and cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere), you will notice something peculiar. There is a complete absence of storm tracks west of South America and very few tracks east of the continent. Why is that? The waters are too cold The lack of activity off the west coast of South America is primarily because of cold waters, AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva says. The Peru Current in the southeastern Pacific Ocean brings cold water unusually far northward along the west coast, too cold for tropical storms and hurricanes. Water temperatures need to be in at least 79 F (26 C) for tropical storms to develop and strengthen. Wind shear is stronger in these regions Another factor is higher wind shear, which tears apart most tropical storms before they can strengthen. Wind shear is particularly high in the Southern Hemisphere, due to a larger temperature gradient. "The waters off Brazil, in the Southern Atlantic, are not as cold, thanks to warmer water coming down from the north, but the wind shear is still too strong to support many tropical storms," DaSilva explained. The 'wave train' is missing in the South Atlantic Another missing piece of the puzzle in the South Atlantic is the African wave train, which pushes clusters of thunderstorms off the continent and over the North Atlantic during hurricane season. These storms can then go on to become a tropical depression, storm or hurricane. "Approximately 80 percent of major North Atlantic hurricanes develop in this area. This conveyor belt of tropical seedlings is absent from the southern Atlantic," DaSilva said. Only one hurricane is known to have traversed this basin Only one hurricane in recorded history has formed in the South Atlantic. In 2004, an unnamed storm, locally called Catarina, formed off the coast of Brazil. The storm made landfall near northeastern Rio Grande do Sul with 100-mph winds, killing three people and causing $300 million (2004 USD) in damage. According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, only two additional unnamed tropical storms ever roamed the southern Atlantic basin, in 2010 and 2011. More South Atlantic storms likely missed by official records Other storms shown on the map above are not recognized in NOAA's database. Many of these are subtropical storms, which possess some tropical characteristics but are not fully developed tropical systems. The map also includes tropical storms named by the Brazilian Navy Hydrographic Center's Marine Meteorological Service (HCMM). The HCMM has been naming subtropical and tropical storms off the Brazilian coast since 2011, but its threshold for naming storms may not be as rigorous as in the rest of the world, so it may name more storms than other agencies, such as NOAA. On the other hand, because the records in the other basins stretch back much longer, 75 to 150 years, there are likely many storms in the South Atlantic that were never tracked. Out of roughly two dozen storms named by HCMM in the last 15 years, fewer than 10 of the named storms tracked since 2011 have made landfall on the South American coast. You may also notice that no storm has ever crossed the equator. This is because, at 0 degrees latitude, the Coriolis force is essentially zero, making it impossible for a tropical system to cross over from one hemisphere to another.
UPI
10-06-2025
- Climate
- UPI
Here's why a hurricane has never crossed the equator
1 of 3 | The Atlantic stirs up in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton in Vero Beach, Fla., in October 2024. The Coriolis force is responsible for deflecting winds to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere, and that is responsible for hurricanes or tropical storms never crossing the equator. File Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo Did you know that a hurricane or tropical storm has never crossed the equator? The reason behind this fascinating phenomenon lies in a meteorological principle related to the rotation of the Earth: the Coriolis force. The Coriolis force is responsible for deflecting winds to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. "This force is what gives tropical systems their iconic swirl -- counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere," AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva explained. At the equator, however, the Coriolis force is essentially zero, making it impossible for a tropical system to cross over from one hemisphere to another. Typhoon Vamei in 2001 was the closest storm to the equator Most tropical systems remain north of 5 degrees north latitude or south of 5 degrees south latitude. The closest a tropical storm or hurricane has ever come to crossing the equator was Typhoon Vamei in December 2001 in the western Pacific, which got within 100 miles of the equator, forming at only 1.4 degrees North latitude. An unnamed tropical depression in 1973 formed farther south The closest a tropical depression has ever formed to the equator was an unnamed storm in December 1973. This storm formed at 0.5 latitude. It later became a tropical storm around 0.7 latitude, according to the China Meteorological Administration. The official record by the U.S. National Hurricane Center disagrees, saying it did not have tropical-storm-force winds until later in its path, north of 10 degrees north latitude. This is likely due to the different ways that the two agencies measure winds in a tropical system. Another fact you may notice on the world tropical cyclone map is that there have been no tropical storms in the southeastern Pacific west of South America and few subtropical or tropical storms off the east coast of the continent. Why are there so few tropical storms in the South Atlantic? Only one hurricane has ever formed off the coast of South America: an unnamed storm locally called Catarina in 2004. According to the NHC, only two additional unnamed tropical storms have ever roamed the southern Atlantic basin, in 2010 and 2011. The other storms shown on the map above are subtropical storms, a designation for a cyclone with high winds that is not 100 tropical in nature. Average sea-surface temperatures above the threshold for tropical storm development (26 C) between 1982 and 1995. The Peru Current brings cold water up the west coast of South America while the Brazil current brings warm water southward off South America's east coast. Adapted from (AccuWeather/NOAA WPC) The lack of activity off the west coast of South America is primarily because of colder waters, DaSilva says. The Peru Current brings cold water northward along the coast. Another factor is higher wind shear, which tears apart most tropical storms before they can strengthen. "The waters off Brazil are not as cold, because the offshore currents are from the north, but the wind shear is still too strong to support many tropical storms," DaSilva explained.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
A hurricane has never crossed the equator. Here's why.
Did you know that a hurricane or tropical storm has never crossed the equator? The reason behind this fascinating phenomenon lies in a meteorological principle related to the rotation of the Earth: the Coriolis force. The Coriolis force is responsible for deflecting winds to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. "This force is what gives tropical systems their iconic swirl - counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere," AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva explained. At the equator, however, the Coriolis force is essentially zero, making it impossible for a tropical system to cross over from one hemisphere to another. Typhoon Vamei in 2001 was the closest storm to the equator Most tropical systems remain north of 5 degrees north latitude or south of 5 degrees south latitude. The closest a tropical storm or hurricane has ever come to crossing the equator was Typhoon Vamei in December 2001 in the western Pacific, which got within 100 miles of the equator, forming at only 1.4 degrees North latitude. An unnamed tropical depression in 1973 formed farther south The closest a tropical depression has ever formed to the equator was an unnamed storm in December 1973. This storm formed at 0.5 latitude. It later became a tropical storm around 0.7 latitude, according to the China Meteorological Administration. The official record by the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) disagrees, saying it did not have tropical-storm-force winds until later in its path, north of 10 degrees north latitude. This is likely due to the different ways that the two agencies measure winds in a tropical system. Another fact you may notice on the world tropical cyclone map is that there have been no tropical storms in the southeastern Pacific west of South America and few subtropical or tropical storms off the east coast of the continent. Why are there so few tropical storms in the South Atlantic? Only one hurricane has ever formed off the coast of South America: an unnamed storm locally called Catarina in 2004. According to the NHC, only two additional unnamed tropical storms have ever roamed the southern Atlantic basin, in 2010 and 2011. The other storms shown on the map above are subtropical storms, a designation for a cyclone with high winds that is not 100% tropical in nature. The lack of activity off the west coast of South America is primarily because of colder waters, DaSilva says. The Peru Current brings cold water northward along the coast. Another factor is higher wind shear, which tears apart most tropical storms before they can strengthen. "The waters off Brazil are not as cold, because the offshore currents are from the north, but the wind shear is still too strong to support many tropical storms," DaSilva explained.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
From South Asia to Mexico, from slave to spiritual icon, this woman's life is a snapshot of Spain's colonization – and the Pacific slave trade history that books often leave out
Catarina de San Juan's life reads like an epic – and her extraordinary story is little known. Born in South Asia during the early 17th century, she was captured by the Portuguese at age 8 and sold to Spaniards in the Philippines. Spanish merchants then traded her across the Pacific to Mexico, where she became a free woman and a spiritual icon, famous in the city of Puebla for her devotion to Catholicism. As a scholar of colonial Latin America, I believe she deserves to become a household name for anyone with even a passing interest in Asian American history or the history of slavery. Catarina was one of the first Asians in the Americas – a focus of my historical research, and the title of my recent book – and arrived through a little-known slave trade that crossed the Pacific Ocean. In colonial Mexico, she lived in the 'nideaquínideallá,' the 'neither-from-here-nor-from-there': a valley between acceptance and foreignness, an in-between state familiar to many migrants today. The particulars of Catarina's journey are quite unfamiliar, even for those who study the history of slavery. Most people have heard of the transatlantic slave trade, which lasted from the early 16th century to the mid- to late 19th century. It was responsible for the violent displacement of some 12.5 million Africans to the Americas. The transpacific slave trade, on the other hand, remains largely unknown. From the late 16th to early 18th centuries, Spaniards forced some 8,000-10,000 captives onto rickety galleons, where they would endure a six-month odyssey from the Philippines to Mexico. The enslaved captives came from South, Southeast and East Asia, as well as East Africa. After her capture, Catarina – whose name at birth was Mirra – was taken to Kochi, India, where she was baptized and received her Christian name. Later, in Manila, a young Spaniard stabbed and beat her within an inch of her life when she refused his advances. In her words, 'Only the divine majesty knows what I went through.' She only ended up on a galleon destined for Mexico because Captain Miguel de Sosa desired the service of a 'chinita,' or little Asian girl. Yet he quickly realized that Catarina had uncommon virtues when she showed little regard for money or objects of material value. Sosa freed Catarina in his will. For the next six decades, she led a life of social isolation, abstinence, humility and rejection of material pleasures – what her admirers saw as an exemplary life of holy Catholic suffering. She lived entirely on charitable offerings and, according to one Jesuit observer, wore only a 'dark, wool dress' with 'the crudest, the coarsest' cloak. Her modest lodgings were 'filled with filthy critters.' And she prayed. She prayed for water in drought, for Indigenous people dying of famine and disease, for ships lost at sea, for travelers braving the roads. She prayed for those who needed help the most. Even as Catarina gained renown, some Spaniards questioned the sincerity of her devotion. Throughout Catarina's life, detractors described her as a 'trickster,' 'a witch,' 'untamed' and 'unknowable,' while Spanish allies viewed her as evidence that all the world could be converted to Catholicism. The Catholic priest who regularly heard her confessions was a Jesuit named Alonso Ramos. After Catarina died, he authored an enormous three-volume biography of her life, the longest text ever published in colonial Mexico. Ramos turned an unlikely subject – a formerly enslaved South Asian woman – into a superhero of the colonial world. Catarina's portrait, which appeared in Ramos' first volume, became a popular relic, and followers in Puebla converted her humble bedroom into an altar where Catholics could pray for her divine favor. Why, then, do few people know about Catarina today? The answer is twofold. First, Ramos' text was considered controversial outside of Puebla because it depicted Catarina with powers reserved only for God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. He describes her announcing prophecies, performing miracles, traveling in her dreams and regularly conversing with Jesus, whom she considered her celestial husband. In short, Ramos had committed blasphemy. The Inquisitions of Spain and Mexico censored and burned his volumes shortly after publication. Inquisitors ended all devotion to Catarina's image and took down the makeshift altar in her room. Over time, the memory of the real Catarina morphed into something entirely different. Spaniards sometimes called her a 'china,' the word colonists in Mexico used to refer to any Asian subject. Today, though, the phrase 'china poblana' – the Asian woman from Puebla – refers to a popular, coquettish style of Mexican dress, with a patterned skirt, white blouse and shawl. Virtually nothing about Catarina's life has been preserved in the modern 'china poblana,' which was invented in the 19th century. In fact, it connotes sexual confidence and national pride, two concepts that Catarina would have likely rejected. Second, the field of Asian American history has been hesitant to peer south of the U.S. border, despite several noteworthy efforts. Many people in the U.S. remain unaware that many Asian people live in Latin America and the Caribbean – indeed, that they have lived there for centuries longer than in the United States. Asians had been coming and going from the Americas for over 200 years by the time the U.S. Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. Today, significant Asian populations inhabit nearly all Latin American and Caribbean nations, mostly due to later waves of immigration and indentured servitude. Brazil hosts the largest number of Japanese and Japanese descendants outside of Japan at around 2 million, and the Chinatown in Havana, Cuba, was once the largest in the Americas. Indo-Caribbean people are the first- or second-largest group on many Caribbean islands, including Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada. Catarina de San Juan and the first Asians in the Americas challenge the traditional timeline and geography of Asian American history. Their stories also capture what many people who end up in the Americas have faced: the trauma of displacement. As Catarina coped with the harsh realities of her new life, she once told Ramos that she frequently saw her parents in her spiritual visions. Sometimes, they were in purgatory, where Catholics believe their souls are purified before they can enter heaven. However, she most often envisioned them coming 'in the company of the ship from the Philippines to the port of Acapulco, from where, on their knees, they came into my presence.' Her pain and longing for a stolen family, a lost youth and a hazily remembered homeland were those of generations of Asian captives taken to the Americas. I believe that her extraordinary life merits long-overdue recognition. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Diego Javier Luis, Johns Hopkins University Read more: Viva Guadalupe! Beyond Mexico, the Indigenous Virgin Mary is a powerful symbol of love and inclusion for millions of Latinos in the US Making sugar, making 'coolies': Chinese laborers toiled alongside Black workers on 19th-century Louisiana plantations The Rio Grande isn't just a border – it's a river in crisis Diego Javier Luis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
